editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Jennifer Ludden is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk. She covers a range of stories on family life and social issues. In recent years, Ludden has reported on the changing economics of marriage, the changing role of dads, the impact of rising student debt loads, and the ethical challenges of modern reproductive technology. Ludden helped cover national security after the 9/11 attacks, then reported on the Bush administration's crackdown on illegal immigrants as well as Congressional efforts to pass a sweeping legalization. She traveled to the Philippines for a story on how an overburdened immigration bureaucracy keeps families separated for years, and to El Salvador to profile migrants who had been deported or turned back at the border. Prior to moving into her current assignment in 2002, Ludden spent six years as a foreign reporter for NPR covering the Middle East, Europe, and West and Central Africa. She followed the collapse of the decade-long Oslo peace process, shared in twoNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Jennifer LuddenThu, 20 Apr 2017 22:44:15 +0000Jennifer Luddenhttp://kuow.org
Jennifer LuddenKevin Butt's job is to find cleaner ways to power Toyota. One of the hardest places to do that is at the automaker's sprawling plant in central Kentucky, a state where nearly 90 percent of electricity still comes from coal . Butt points out a new engine assembly line, where a conveyor belt moves in a slow circle. He says it was specially designed with a more efficient motor. There are also enormous fans overhead and LED lights, all changes that save millions. "I mean, what company doesn't want to reduce their energy bill," he says. That's the business case for going green. And in a lot of places around the country, solar and wind are now the cheapest energy option. But a few years ago, Toyota decided that by 2050 all of its operations, all around the world, should be zero-carbon . It's part of a larger business shift . In Kentucky, General Motors, Ford, Walmart, L'Oreal and others also have big goals to reduce emissions. Even the state's beloved bourbon makers are starting to look atBig Business Pushes Coal-Friendly Kentucky To Embrace Renewableshttp://kuow.org/post/big-business-pushes-coal-friendly-kentucky-embrace-renewables
102640 as http://kuow.orgMon, 17 Apr 2017 11:40:00 +0000Big Business Pushes Coal-Friendly Kentucky To Embrace RenewablesJennifer LuddenThere have been no executive orders yet to undo President Barack Obama's signature climate plan, but many officials and environmental groups consider it as good as dead. The Clean Power Plan is on hold while a legal battle plays out, and even if an appeals court upholds it — a decision could come any day — the Trump administration is likely to appeal to the Supreme Court. The state of New York decided to forge ahead anyway. Like a number of other mostly liberal states, it is continuing with efforts to drive down the carbon emissions that drive climate change. In the upstate village of Canton, dairy farmer Rick Moore shows off the solar thermal array tucked next to his slouching red barn. It's a cloudy, slushy day, but "you still get rays that still help heat it up," Moore says. The system warms the water that runs through the solar tubes. Moore then uses the water to spray down his milking equipment. He says it will save him $1,000 a year, and help reduce the carbon emissions he saysAs Obama Clean Power Plan Fades, States Craft Strategies To Move Beyond Ithttp://kuow.org/post/obama-clean-power-plan-fades-states-craft-strategies-move-beyond-it
97098 as http://kuow.orgWed, 25 Jan 2017 22:16:00 +0000As Obama Clean Power Plan Fades, States Craft Strategies To Move Beyond ItJennifer LuddenCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: It is Inauguration Day here in Washington, D.C., and already thousands of Donald Trump supporters are gathering at checkpoints along the Mall as they make their way to the scene of the swearing in of the 45th president of the United States. NPR's Jennifer Ludden is out there somewhere on or near the Mall talking to people. Jennifer, where are you and who are you with? JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE: Hey, David. I am on Constitution Avenue around 7th Street in a line that is moving, finally, to let people through the checkpoint onto the Mall. And I'm here with Whitney Ruiz (ph) who is from San Angelo, Texas. GREENE: Oh, great. WHITNEY RUIZ: Hey there. LUDDEN: So tell me - you're here with your son. What brought you guys up to D.C. for this inauguration? RUIZ: Well, my son was invited to the Envision Presidential Inauguration Youth Summit, and we felt like that was a grand opportunity for him to witness part of history. And it was anCrowds Eager To Pass Through Security To Witness Trump Inaugurationhttp://kuow.org/post/crowds-eager-pass-through-security-witness-trump-inauguration
96708 as http://kuow.orgFri, 20 Jan 2017 13:34:00 +0000Crowds Eager To Pass Through Security To Witness Trump InaugurationJennifer LuddenAbortion rights groups filed suit Monday to stop the state of Texas from enacting a rule on Dec. 19 that requires fetal remains to be buried or cremated after miscarriages or abortions. The lawsuit calls the rule "politically motivated" and says it aims to shame women. The Texas Department of Health went ahead with the measure despite objections from medical groups. Supporters, however, say its purpose is to provide dignity for "unborn infants." "What we're saying is, it needs to be humane, and the mother needs to be given the opportunity to have a say and be informed with what's happening," says Kristi Hamrick of Americans United for Life. The group has created model legislation intended for other states, similar to the Texas regulation. But the Center for Reproductive Rights says it would be costly to require burials or cremation — a cost that may be passed on to women — and would provide no health benefit. "These regulations are an insult to Texas women, the rule of law and the U.S.Lawsuit Challenges Fetal Burial Rule In Texashttp://kuow.org/post/lawsuit-challenges-fetal-burial-rule-texas
94150 as http://kuow.orgMon, 12 Dec 2016 23:23:00 +0000Lawsuit Challenges Fetal Burial Rule In TexasJennifer LuddenCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: Texas isn't alone in this. Its regulations requiring the burial of aborted fetuses are part of a wave of such measures nationwide. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports they came out of last year's videos targeting Planned Parenthood. JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE: Remember those videos? Anti-abortion activists went undercover secretly recording conversations with abortion providers. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Excuse me. Can we get the wine menu again? LUDDEN: The video's maker accused Planned Parenthood of unlawfully selling fetal tissue. There's no evidence of that, but there were still congressional hearings and a dozen state investigations. That's when Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced this... (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) MIKE DEWINE: Fetuses from abortions are being cooked and then put into landfills and mixed in with all the other garbage that's out there. I think it's just wrong. LUDDEN: ByActivist Groups Expect More States To Take Up New Anti-Abortion Measureshttp://kuow.org/post/activist-groups-expect-more-states-take-new-anti-abortion-measures
94140 as http://kuow.orgMon, 12 Dec 2016 21:50:00 +0000Activist Groups Expect More States To Take Up New Anti-Abortion MeasuresJennifer LuddenCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: And now we're going to take a look at a story in Ohio, where the state legislature this week passed a new law banning abortion at six weeks after conception, even though the measure violates the standards set by the Supreme Court. The next day, lawmakers passed a second ban on abortion, this time after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Governor John Kasich now has to decide whether to sign either bill into law. We're joined now by NPR's Jennifer Ludden to sort through this. Jennifer, thanks so much for joining us. JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE: Hi, Michel. MARTIN: What's the logic of this six-weeks-after-conception ban? LUDDEN: Well, they're called the heartbeat bill because that six weeks after conception is the point at which you can first detect a heartbeat. Now, many doctors won't even see a woman this early to confirm a pregnancy. The rate of miscarriage that early is really high. But I have to say, Ohio's not the first right, all right?Ohio Gov. Kasich Mulling State Abortion Banshttp://kuow.org/post/ohio-gov-kasich-mulling-state-abortion-bans
94051 as http://kuow.orgSat, 10 Dec 2016 22:06:00 +0000Ohio Gov. Kasich Mulling State Abortion BansJennifer LuddenThere's no shortage of speculation about how the incoming Trump administration, whose appointees so far are staunch abortion opponents, might crack down on access to the procedure. But reproductive rights groups say the big picture is getting lost: Women in large parts of the country already have limited access to abortion, due to hundreds of Republican-backed laws passed by state legislatures over the past half-decade. "People are forced to travel hundreds of miles, cross state lines, miss work, lose wages and jeopardize their health and safety to obtain an abortion," says Carrie Flaxman, an attorney with Planned Parenthood. On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood joined the ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights in filing legal challenges to abortion restrictions, targeting laws in three states: North Carolina. The lawsuit challenges a law banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except in the case of a medical emergency. That is several weeks earlier than the generally agreedAbortion-Rights Groups Challenge Restrictions In 3 Stateshttp://kuow.org/post/abortion-rights-groups-challenge-restrictions-three-states
93341 as http://kuow.orgWed, 30 Nov 2016 20:46:00 +0000Abortion-Rights Groups Challenge Restrictions In 3 StatesJennifer LuddenAmy Hagstrom Miller of Whole Women's Health had been having a banner year. Her organization, based in Charlottesville, Va., operates several abortion clinics around the country and brought a legal challenge that led the Supreme Court to issue a landmark ruling this past summer. The court struck down abortion restrictions in Texas, setting a precedent that abortion rights groups believe could help turn back a wave of restrictions passed by legislatures across the country in recent years. But now that Donald Trump is the president-elect? "I'm devastated," Miller says. "I feel stunned. I'm numb." Trump's election could have a profound impact on access to abortion. He has said he'll nominate Supreme Court justices who would be likely to overturn Roe v. Wade , the 1973 ruling that legalized the procedure. And he's set to take office with one opening on the court, since Republican senators have refused to consider President Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy created after Justice AntoninAccess To Abortion Could Be Curtailed Under Trump Administrationhttp://kuow.org/post/trump-administration-could-lead-more-abortion-restrictions
92502 as http://kuow.orgThu, 10 Nov 2016 19:03:00 +0000Access To Abortion Could Be Curtailed Under Trump AdministrationJennifer LuddenIn Greensboro, N.C., Eyeisha Holt spends her days as a full-time child care worker at Head Start. But after a decade's work in early education she still earns only $11.50 an hour — barely enough, she says, to cover the basics as a single mom of two. So every weekday evening she heads to her second job, as a babysitter. "Are you ready to go to bed?" she asks, as she oversees bath time for her 3-year-old daughter and another of her charges. For 25 hours a week, Holt cares for toddler twins, in addition to her daughter and teenage son. "Some days I'm really strong," she says. "Some days it's like, 'OK, give me seven cups of coffee.' " Nationwide, average pay for child care workers like Holt is less than $10 an hour . Nearly half of these workers receive some kind of public assistance. Holt gets food stamps and her children are on Medicaid. "And I just feel like it's kind of messed up," she says. "You would think, being in a profession such as teaching, I should be making enough moneyPoverty Wages For U.S. Child Care Workers May Be Behind High Turnoverhttp://kuow.org/post/poverty-wages-us-child-care-workers-may-be-behind-high-turnover
92154 as http://kuow.orgMon, 07 Nov 2016 10:07:00 +0000Poverty Wages For U.S. Child Care Workers May Be Behind High TurnoverJennifer LuddenFact-Checking Trump's Statements On 'Partial-Birth' Abortionhttp://kuow.org/post/fact-checking-trumps-position-partial-birth-abortion
90808 as http://kuow.orgThu, 20 Oct 2016 12:14:00 +0000Fact-Checking Trump's Statements On 'Partial-Birth' AbortionJennifer LuddenIn the two-story breakfast room on the 25th floor of Hilton's Conrad Miami, Florance Eloi mans the omelet stand in front of a panoramic view of the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean. The bubbly Miami native says, laughing, that guests routinely tell her, "Stop making the omelets, you need to turn around and look!" When Eloi, 31, found out she was pregnant late last year, she wondered how she would balance her job with a baby. She was lucky to have a few weeks of paid vacation, since about half of lower-wage workers do not. Still, it would be hard to come back to work so soon. And if she stayed home longer without a paycheck, Eloi says, she and her husband would have had to dip into savings. Then Eloi's manager told her some good news: By the time Eloi gave birth, a new policy would guarantee her 10 weeks of fully paid parental leave. "It was right on time!" she says. Recent years have seen a boom in paid parental leave in parts of corporate America. Silicon Valley, especially, is in aFrom Cooks To Accountants: Hilton Extends Paid Parental Leave To Allhttp://kuow.org/post/hilton-paid-parental-leave-housekeepers-and-cooks-too
90176 as http://kuow.orgTue, 11 Oct 2016 22:37:00 +0000From Cooks To Accountants: Hilton Extends Paid Parental Leave To AllJennifer LuddenOn her first day back at work after giving birth, Tricia Olson drank copious amounts of coffee, stuffed tissues in her pocket, and tried not to cry. After all, her son Gus was just 3 weeks old. Olson, 32, works for a small towing company and U-Haul franchise in Rock Springs, Wyo., and she could not afford to be away from work any longer. "The house bill's not going to pay itself," she says, her voice breaking in an audio diary she kept as part of a series on the challenges facing working parents airing on NPR's All Things Considered. Olson is one of just four employees she says are "like family," and like many U.S. workers, she has no paid leave at all : not for vacation, not if she gets sick, and certainly not for parental leave. Normally, she's the only one in the office to take calls. Her boss agreed to fill in for her for three weeks after the delivery, but she says "even just that ... makes me feel guilty." Olson is hardly alone in returning to work so early. But this is aOn Your Mark, Give Birth, Go Back To Workhttp://kuow.org/post/your-mark-give-birth-go-back-work
89694 as http://kuow.orgTue, 04 Oct 2016 20:35:00 +0000On Your Mark, Give Birth, Go Back To WorkJennifer LuddenA powerful drug that's normally used to tranquilize elephants is being blamed for a record spike in drug overdoses in the Midwest. Officials in Ohio have declared a public health emergency, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says communities everywhere should be on alert for carfentanil. The synthetic opioid is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, the prescription painkiller that led to the death earlier this year of the pop star Prince. Fentanyl itself can be up to 50 times more deadly than heroin. In the past few years, traffickers in illegal drugs increasingly have substituted fentanyl for heroin and other opioids. Now carfentanil is being sold on American streets, either mixed with heroin or pressed into pills that look like prescription drugs. Many users don't realize that they're buying carfentanil. And that has deadly consequences. "Instead of having four or five overdoses in a day, you're having these 20, 30, 40, maybe even 50 overdoses in a day," says Tom Synan, whoAn Even Deadlier Opioid, Carfentanil, Is Hitting The Streets http://kuow.org/post/even-deadlier-opioid-carfentanil-hitting-streets
87543 as http://kuow.orgFri, 02 Sep 2016 09:07:00 +0000An Even Deadlier Opioid, Carfentanil, Is Hitting The Streets Jennifer LuddenCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit NPR .Worried About A Bleak Future, Climate Change Activists Hesitant To Have Kids http://kuow.org/post/activists-consider-climate-impact-having-children
87182 as http://kuow.orgSun, 28 Aug 2016 21:10:00 +0000Worried About A Bleak Future, Climate Change Activists Hesitant To Have Kids Jennifer LuddenOrientation at Arkansas Tech University this year included a surprising topic for a Bible Belt state that pushes abstinence-only in high school. Every freshman was shown a newly produced video in which real students talk about the struggle of an unplanned pregnancy, and the challenge of staying in school as a parent. "I lost a lot of friends," says one young woman in the video who had dreamed of becoming a surgeon. A young man says he "went from not having any responsibility to having a full-time responsibility," while another laments that Friday nights are no longer spent with friends but at home "watching Dora. A lot of Dora." The message is clear, and it will come up again throughout the year: in a college success course, in group chats in dorms, at a slew of events during Sexual Health Week. Why in college? Arkansas has the nation's highest rate of teen births, but most of them — here and nationally — are actually to young adults, 18 and 19 years old. Last year, the ArkansasA New Course At Arkansas Colleges: How To Not Get Pregnanthttp://kuow.org/post/new-course-arkansas-colleges-how-not-get-pregnant
87077 as http://kuow.orgFri, 26 Aug 2016 17:32:00 +0000A New Course At Arkansas Colleges: How To Not Get PregnantJennifer LuddenStanding before several dozen students in a college classroom, Travis Rieder tries to convince them not to have children. Or at least not too many. He's at James Madison University in southwest Virginia to talk about a "small-family ethic" — to question the assumptions of a society that sees having children as good, throws parties for expecting parents, and in which parents then pressure their kids to "give them grandchildren." Why question such assumptions? The prospect of climate catastrophe. For years, people have lamented how bad things might get "for our grandchildren," but Rieder tells the students that future isn't so far off anymore. He asks how old they will be in 2036, and, if they are thinking of having kids, how old their kids will be. "Dangerous climate change is going to be happening by then ," he says. "Very, very soon." Rieder wears a tweedy jacket and tennis shoes, and he limps because of a motorcycle accident. He's a philosopher with the Berman Institute of BioethicsShould We Be Having Kids In The Age Of Climate Change? http://kuow.org/post/should-we-be-having-kids-age-climate-change
86458 as http://kuow.orgThu, 18 Aug 2016 15:49:27 +0000Should We Be Having Kids In The Age Of Climate Change? Jennifer LuddenCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: Prosecutors in Baltimore made a surprise move today. They dropped all charges against three police officers who still face trial in the death of Freddie Gray. The young black man suffered a fatal injury in the back of a police van last year. His funeral touched off the city's worst violence in decades. After four trials, starting last November, prosecutors have been unable to win any convictions. Well, now State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby is accusing police of undermining the case. NPR's Jennifer Ludden has the latest. JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE: After obeying a gag order for months, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby finally spoke out. And she was just as feisty and controversial as when she announced criminal charges against six officers last year. She held a news conference at the West Baltimore spot where Freddie Gray was arrested. She was surrounded by cheering residents. Mosby said over the past year, she's been physically andRemaining Charges Against Officers In Freddie Gray's Death Droppedhttp://kuow.org/post/remaining-charges-against-officers-freddie-grays-death-dropped
84831 as http://kuow.orgWed, 27 Jul 2016 20:07:00 +0000Remaining Charges Against Officers In Freddie Gray's Death DroppedJennifer LuddenCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: In a surprise move, Baltimore prosecutors have dropped all charges against three officers who still face trial in the death of Freddie Gray. The death of that young black man last year touched off protests that turned violent. State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby had been lauded by some for swiftly charging six officers, but the case has been an uphill battle from the start. NPR's Jennifer Ludden is here with us to talk more about this, and, you know, pretty stunning since there was a courtroom full of people in Baltimore expecting a hearing in the trial of one of these officers. JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE: Yes, Renee, the fifth hearing in this long case, and, you know, people have been calling on Marilyn Mosby to drop these charges for a while. But everyone just assumed, well, she's not going to do that. It's just going to continue on. And yet prosecutors made this motion at the very last minute. You know, there were two moreCharges Against Remaining Officers Dropped In Freddie Gray Casehttp://kuow.org/post/charges-against-remaining-officers-dropped-freddie-gray-case
84796 as http://kuow.orgWed, 27 Jul 2016 14:40:00 +0000Charges Against Remaining Officers Dropped In Freddie Gray CaseCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit NPR .Abortion-Rights Supporters, Opponents Plan Next Stepshttp://kuow.org/post/abortion-rights-supporters-opponents-plan-next-steps
82930 as http://kuow.orgSat, 02 Jul 2016 21:07:00 +0000Abortion-Rights Supporters, Opponents Plan Next StepsJennifer LuddenCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Officer's Acquittal Renews Calls For Baltimore Police Reformhttp://kuow.org/post/officers-acquittal-renews-calls-baltimore-police-reform
82876 as http://kuow.orgFri, 01 Jul 2016 20:38:00 +0000Officer's Acquittal Renews Calls For Baltimore Police Reform